The group searched for a while.
The exchange list provided by Huang Lao Han contained an immense variety of items; one could virtually exchange for anything imaginable that existed in the 40k Imperium of Man.
Technology was naturally included.
No one knew how many secrets were buried within the Imperial Palace on Terra.
Many technologies from the Dark Age of Technology were sealed away in the Imperial Palace's secret archives, including some unknown even to the Adeptus Mechanicus.
It was precisely for this reason that a Dark Age of Technology mining machine like the Spaceborne Particle Excavator had a high probability of existing in the Imperial Palace's archives.
Given that Luka and his team's exchange list even included things like the Gene-Seed Primarch's Warp essence, Huang Lao Han might very well have included this Dark Age of Technology item as well.
In fact, STC Templates for various technologies were ubiquitous on Luka and his team's exchange list.
From the simplest quick-setting concrete for rapid construction and the commonly used Imperial ceramite and plasteel formulas, to complex Emperor-class Titan and battleship construction templates, Luka had even seen the STC for Phosphex weapons, which were so rare that they had completely disappeared by the 40k era.
Even in the 30k era, when the Imperium was burgeoning and flourishing, these technologies were considered rare, let alone in the 40k era, where humanity had continuously lost countless technologies.
Any STC Template that Luka and his team could exchange for, if merely shown to the Tech-Priests in the 40k era, would cause them to overload their circuits and collectively go insane.
For no other reason than the sheer abundance of good things Huang Lao Han had brought out.
Any one item would be enough to make the Tech-Priests of Mars launch an expedition.
After a painstaking search, the group finally found what they were looking for in the vast sea of technical directories.
"Uh… 10,000 exchange points? This thing is that expensive?" Mai Mai's expression, upon seeing what they had found, was as sour as if she had eaten ten catties of lemons mixed with bitter melon.
What could be more painful than knowing there's something good but being unable to get it?
It's having a good thing right in front of you, but being unable to afford it.
"Uh, this thing is indeed very good, but we really can't afford it right now," Luka sighed after examining it.
If it had been before 32, before he bought those two new ships, they might have been able to scrape together enough to get it.
But he had used his points to buy ships recently, and Gutierrez had used his points to strengthen his Kill Team.
Incidentally, he also bought himself a Vanguard-class light cruiser to serve as his team's transport ship.
As for Mai Mai and Twilight, they still had some points, but not even enough to make up a third of the Spaceborne Particle Excavator STC's price.
"So what do we do now? The Tech-Priests of Griya said that with this technology, we could dismantle stars to repair the stellar ring," Twilight seemed very excited, as repairing the stellar ring was a very tempting prospect.
Meanwhile, 32 had already pounced over, clearly enthusiastic about the matter.
But Luka poured cold water on everyone: "Nothing to do. If we can't afford it, we don't buy it. We'll talk about it when we can gather enough points."
"But if that's the case, when will we ever gather enough points?" Twilight was a bit unwilling.
Ten thousand points was no small sum; Luka and Gutierrez had only managed to get roughly half that amount from their previous campaign against the Necrons. To get ten thousand points individually, it would require at least a large-scale planetary war.
"There's still a Necron Dynasty in the system; taking it out would be enough, but we don't have the strength to take on a Necron Dynasty right now. So, for now, don't overthink things. Focus on developing, and we'll talk about other things when we have the strength," Luka remained rational, advising the others not to engage in impractical fantasies.
Although he himself really wanted to directly exchange for the Spaceborne Particle Excavator, then furiously mine the star for massive amounts of minerals to rapidly build up forces, and field a Primaris Space Marines legion to Cadia to give the pointy-headed Abaddon a good thrashing.
But the problem was, they truly lacked the strength for it right now.
As for dragging the Adeptus Mechanicus into smashing Necron tombs? Luka didn't think the Mariupol Forge World had that capability.
Even the Griya Forge World might not have the ability to take on a Necron Dynasty.
And even if it did, the Griya Forge World wouldn't empty its coffers just to take out a Necron Dynasty.
Seeing this, the others could only give up, drooling over the good item and imagining what they could do if they could get their hands on such a star miner.
Luka then went out to throw out the trash and pick up a package on the way.
As he stepped out, he happened to run into Liu Yi from across the hall, who also seemed to be going out to throw out trash.
Luka greeted him amicably before turning to go downstairs to pick up his package at the community gate.
At the community gate, several capable-looking security guards were diligently standing guard. The one in the guard booth stood ramrod straight, giving Luka a sense that he was living in a military compound.
However, he didn't bother to dwell on it, as it was perfectly normal for a security company to hire a few retired veterans, right?
Luka approached the security booth, greeted the two guards who were intently watching the monitors, and then found his package among a pile of others.
In fact, he didn't spend much time, as his package was another large cardboard box.
Borrowing a small cart from the community security and with their help placing the box onto it, Luka then pushed the cart back home.
After asking his friends to help move the cardboard box inside, Luka returned the cart. By then, Gutierrez had also logged off and was preparing to leave with the other three.
"Luka, what did you buy this time? I saw the information on the box; it looks like it was shipped from the UK?" Gutierrez, being in the wine business, was familiar with international mail and thus recognized that the package was from the UK.
Luka didn't hide it from his friends, explaining directly: "It's Battlefleet Gothic. I asked a friend in the UK to help me find a rare, unopened, out-of-print set."
"Holy crap, Battlefleet Gothic? You're not thinking of importing that into 40k, are you? Did Huang Lao Han tell you to?" Gutierrez looked surprised.
"I don't know, just trying it out! Anyway, this thing is a rare, out-of-print item. Even if it can't be imported into 40k, it's still great for collection, isn't it?" Luka said indifferently.
While this out-of-print item was indeed a bit expensive, with someone else footing the bill, Luka could still afford the expense.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
patreon.com/TripleCrown07
If you guys wanna check it out.